Your Grassroots Dollars Support Organizations Addressing Many Issues
In the past few years, our Grants Program in the United States has experienced a notable increase in funding applications. The rising number of requests reflects the growing need among women-led grassroots organizations. This increase and our expanding visibility highlight the trust organizations place in us and the urgent need for greater investment in women-focused […]
Celebrate Lent: Use the Season as an Opportunity to Delve into Justice and Peace
Prayer, fasting and giving, the three pillars of Lenten practice, are meant to build relationship with God and those beloved by God. These practices are the means to respond to God’s saving love by loving the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. Lent is an invitation to solidarity with all of God’s creation in seeking justice and peace.
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The Contact Center Organizes for Success of Members, Cincinnati Community, and More
“I am a former welfare recipient […] I actually got a GED and was still raising my family of seven children” said Cassandra Barham, Organizer at the Contact Center. “So here I am. I’m a success. And I want people to know that there is a way to be a success out there.”
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The 2019 Encuentro – We Gathered with Gratitude
If we used just one word to describe the experience, it would have to be gratitude. All throughout the days we spent together, women expressed gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the ESPERA program and the opportunity to meet one another, for the work of Mary’s Pence and the work of our ancestors.
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Ending Extreme Sentencing in California
California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) received a Mary’s Pence Grant this fall to help support their Drop LWOP campaign. The statewide campaign focuses on stopping life without parole sentencing (LWOP) and securing sentence commutations for all people serving life without parole in California. Working with over 100 partner organizations, CCWP leads advocacy efforts to end extreme sentencing and improve prison conditions for all people who are currently incarcerated in California.
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Taking Care of Ourselves – Mary’s Pence Grantee Discussion
Our grantee partners are all doing intense, challenging social justice work on a daily basis. Their level of commitment often means that self-care for staff and volunteers is neglected. The teleconference offered the opportunity to share resources and suggestions for self-care strategies among grantees.
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Multi-generational Issues Require Inter-generational Solidarity
“Lead by example. Support women on their way to the top. Trust that they will extend a hand to those who follow.” -Mariela Dabbah
History shows us that achieving equality is a multi-generational issue. Recent Mary’s Pence grant recipients, Code/Art in Miami, Florida and Project DIVA in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are two organizations who give life to Mariela Dabbah’s words.
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A Decade of Hope: Celebrating 10 Years of the ESPERA Program
From the beginning, we knew that unlike other micro-lending programs, we wanted to create a feminist model of community lending, which measures success by the effects the program has on women, their communities, their well-being and economic autonomy, not merely profits and repayment rates.
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Intentional Love from Mary’s Pence: the Inaugural Grantee Retreat
As a small women-led, social change organization Mary’s Pence is uniquely positioned to understand the challenges our grantees face, and the benefit of coming together with like-minded women to support one another.
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Come, Come, Whoever You Are
Thousands of migrants are trudging across Mexico from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. They carry small children and support the tired and infirm. Hot and humid weather carries with it the constant risk of dehydration, sunburn and exhaustion.
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